This weekend we took part in a fundraiser walk for Dog Guides of Canada. Our team of 5 raised over $2000! Gord won a prize for being the smallest dog at the event, a title he will not likely ever have again.
Here he is beside his cousin, Bear. (Not the smallest dog on the walk!)
Our family picture. We borrowed the backdrop from Sears.
All tuckered out!
T.
Summer is coming to an end and school is around the corner. So, as I look back on the summer and the hours spent in my basement, I wonder where the time went. Shouldn't I have accomplished more? I mean, a week from now I'll be back in my classroom with another batch of manic pubescents, and I'm supposed to be coming back refreshed and rejuvenated, satisfied with my prescribed dose of summer. But, it has been a great summer. Gord has been a joy every day and I feel like a parent, watching him grow up and getting bigger, more adventurous and hungrier every day. The top pic is from Pre/Post's gig at Eastwood Fest. Madi loves him. This next one is of Gord with his new squeeky bone. Already looking less puppy-like.
So far:
Main basement gutted with the foundation repaired.
So far: (That's Kelsey's folks who worked hard with me to do the framing)
A year ago we were living in my parents spare bedroom, looking for a home and jobs. Wow, what a great year it's been. (Teachers see the year from September to August, by the way.)After 6 months of living in our new house, we decided to do a weekend blitz to paint the walls. From right after work on Friday evening to 11:30 pm on Sunday, it was tape, paint and pizza. We're pretty proud of our new house (because that's what it seems like). It was a huge amount of work but we had a fun time doing it. Here are a few pics of the process.
What a difference some colour makes.
Home ownership comes with some great perks. Our new home is in really good shape, and really doesn't need anything done to it, but as it seems to go, every new home owner wants to change a few things. We've been planning on doing a few renovations but at the moment that seems like biting off more than we can chew, SO we started small.
Project #3: Stop the draughty windows. Once again, a bit late, but better than not at all. We picked up a bunch of this stuff in the bargain bin at Canadian Tire and sealed up most of the main floor. It makes a huge difference. If you haven't seen this stuff before, it's pretty cool. It goes on all floppy and wrinkly and then you use a hair dryer to heat it up and it tightens up like a snare drum. Maybe one day we'll make the real investment for better windows.
Project #4: Turn the broom closet into a pantry. I wish we had a 'before' picture, but it probably wouldn't be as exciting to our readers as it is to us. This project was started in October, 2008, believe it or not. Unfortunately it sat dormant for many weeks after I made the rookie mistake of measuring once, cutting three times. Now that it's done, it makes a big difference in our whole kitchen situation.
Project #5: Install a scarf rack. This was such a good idea. Since I've become a scarf wearer during the trip last year, it seemed vital to have a good place to keep our scarves. Check it out! There have been a few other minor improvements we've made around the house, like installing LED lights in dark closets, assembling a couple pieces of new furniture, hanging a few pictures and things like that. Next up: installing my climbing trainer in the basement ceiling.
Getting some help from my skip in a family game of floor curling. Grandpa is a pro!
And of course, giving and receiving. Everybody loves that part. This was my first Christmas with Kelsey's family and it was a really great time. I know I have to say that, but really, it was great.
For all our friends and family that still check the blog- thanks for sticking with us.
We are embarking on a new adventure with a house, new jobs, married and "settled" for now. There was only one thing that seemed to be missing. Yes, you guessed it, we bought a new laptop! We are proud to say that we have a beautiful, bouncing 15" MacBook Pro. It is amazing! It smells VERY good and we feel so much more connected already. Tyrn is at parent-teacher interviews tonight or I am sure he would want to give you all the P's, Q's and wonderful features of his favourite new toy.
Our Mac commercial. Isn't he cute!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I LOVE fall. We really have missed fall and are trying to soak it all up. 
Tyrn and I hosted Thanksgiving for my family. Of course it was a GREAT time. Here you see my Dad, brother Kevin & Craig and Ty, trying to get the EXTREMELY heavy freezer out of our basement.
After some deliberation, they were able to move it to the garage. This was the pre-workout to make room for all that Turkey!
Here we are trying to free up some space for more of Deb's cookin'
The country around Elk Island where Ty's family lives is SPECTACULAR.
This is our leftover tower that we got to take home! MMMMM... I love Canadian Thanksgiving!
Our apples are still holding strong. They look like bulbs all hung with care.
We finally feel like we have settled back into home! I hope that everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving and please feel free to drop by anytime.
